1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to trunking used, for example, to support, house and protect various devices, in particular various electrical devices, and to support, house and protect cables, conductors, pipes or other equipments to which the devices are connected.
2. Description of the Prior Art
By definition, trunking has a base section, which has an open cross section, by means of which it is fixed to some kind of wall, or to some other kind of support, and a cover section which, to close the base section, is removably attached to it, for example clipped to it.
The invention relates more particularly to the situation in which the interior volume of the trunking, or to be more precise that of its base section, to which, for simplicity, the trunking will be systematically regarded as equivalent hereinafter, is divided transversely into at least two compartments which extend parallel to each other, for example side-by-side, in the longitudinal direction, and which are separated from each other by at least one wall, referred to hereinafter as a partition wall.
One compartment, referred to hereinafter as the installation compartment, is dedicated to the installation of devices and the other one, referred to hereinafter as the wiring compartment, is dedicated to the installation of cables or conductors and is possibly itself divided into two or more sub-compartments when, carrying currents at different voltages, the cables or conductors are preferably to be separated from each other.
With an arrangement of the above kind, it is advantageously possible to work in either compartment without necessarily interfering with the other one.
The height, or depth, of each compartment is entirely available for the devices or the cables or conductors concerned, without the devices or the cables or conductors interfering with each other.
In particular, referring to the installation compartment, the interior volume is entirely available for devices without it being necessary to pass cables or conductors below or alongside them, which, other things being equal, means that the overall height, for example, can be minimized.
However, the problem arises of passing the cables or conductors from the wiring compartment into the installation compartment when a device has to be connected to the cables or conductors.
In French patent No. 2 719 887, filed as application No. 94 05842 on May 11 1994, the partition wall through which the cables or conductors have to be passed is part of the base section of the trunking and is formed in one piece with the back of the base section.
It is therefore necessary to provide openings at intervals along the partition wall, in this example notches which open onto its free edge.
In the case of an extrusion, systematically forming such notches cannot fail to make fabrication more complex and consequently more costly.
What is more, at installation time, the notches are not necessarily at the locations that the installer would wish.
The same is substantially true of the disclosure of French patent No. 2 660 120, filed as application No. 90 03772 on Mar. 23 1990, in which the partition wall formed with the necessary openings or notches nevertheless constitutes a separate part rather than a part of the base section of the trunking and is removably attached to the back of the base section.
In French certificate of addition No. 2 280 849, filed as application No. 74 26398 on Jul. 30 1974, the partition wall is part of the cover section of a compartment of the trunking, with which it is formed in one piece, and this arrangement is also used in other embodiments.
However, as previously, it is necessary to provide openings from place to place in the partition wall for passing the cables or conductors through, either in advance or by forming such openings as and where required by cutting the partition wall, with the attendant disadvantages.
A general object of the present invention is an arrangement that provides a particularly simple way of avoiding the above disadvantages and which also has advantages of its own.
To be more precise, the present invention firstly provides a port accessory for trunking whose interior volume is divided into at least two compartments separated from each other by at least one partition wall which is part of a cover section associated with a first of the compartments, wherein, being intended to be locally substituted for the cover section of which the partition wall is part, the port accessory includes at least one longitudinal wall adapted to be substituted for the partition wall and through which there is at least one port and longitudinal engagement means which are adapted to be fastened to the base section of the trunking.
Thus the invention systematically employs a dedicated accessory including the required port.
All that is then required is to divide the cover section of the compartment concerned into two lengths and to insert the port accessory between them.
The required port is therefore obtained without it being necessary for the partition wall of the cover section in question to have any openings in it and without it being necessary to cut the partition wall in the absence of such openings.
Indeed, because the cover section is cut to length, the partition wall is locally eliminated and the port accessory according to the invention, which incorporates the required port, is simply substituted for it.
If required, the function of the port accessory according to the invention can be limited to providing the required port.
However, in accordance with a preferred development of the invention, the port accessory is also adapted to receive a device, in the manner of some kind of support.
This is therefore an additional benefit, further simplifying installation.
In all cases, the port accessory according to the invention is preferably adapted to have a plate clipped to it to form a cover.
It is then advantageously possible for the lengths of cover section between which the port accessory is installed to be cut to an approximate length.
The features and advantages of the invention will emerge further from the following description, which is given by way of example and with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.